An app which scrapes pollution data from government websites in China has resulted in 196 Apple suppliers facing action from the iPhone maker over breaches of its environmental rules. Some of those suppliers have been axed altogether.
The environmental activist behind the Blue Map app says that giving access to the data to companies like Apple and Wal-Mart has proved more effective than trying to get the government to take action …
Bloomberg reports that Ma Jun’s app is backed by Alibaba.
In all, the app has identified over 830,000 instances of tampering with monitoring devices or using excessive quantities of water.
Factories caught cheating face repercussions. Ma’s non-profit organization has caused some to be banished from Apple’s supplier list, be denied a desired credit rating to issue bonds or even be deprived of bank loans.
Apple said that it appreciated the work of the IPE.
Back in October, Greenpeace praised Apple for its work in encouraging its supply chain to use clean energy.
Blue Map is a free download from the App Store.
